Headed into the start of SEC spring meetings, the Big Ten believed it had a partner in its push to transform the College Football Playoff into something more akin to the NFL. The Big Ten and SEC have grown significantly closer over the last year,

Until now, the SEC was pushing the idea of giving itself four automatic qualifiers in any future College Football Playoff, but the sport’s most dominant confere

The change means the top four seeds will go to the four highest-ranked teams regardless of their finish within the conference.